By Louis Entwistle

As far as debut collections go, ‘Capriole’ AW11/12 was the beginning of Iris Van Herpen’s journey to becoming one of the most distinctive couturiers of contemporary times. Starting the collection with an exoskeleton, drawing focus to the pelvis, and nipping at the wearer's elbows, clearly the Dutch designer was about to show something radically different. The rest of the collection mixed the natural form with geometry, not in a spaced-out conceptual way. In a way you can’t help but notice with every look. Ahead of the curve, Lady Gaga recognised Van Herpen soon after ‘Micro’ SS12 and has since worn her multiple times on the red carpet.

‘Capriole’ was invigorating to watch, pure innovation and ideas about symbiosis between us and the natural system we call home. Van Herpen’s signature styles are not found in historic references or theatrical sets, her greatest strength would show itself in the spectacular detail her layered gowns have. How using Computer Aided Design could evoke mathematical precision and natural beauty at the same time. Fibrous yet organised, here lies the unparalleled appeal that Van Herpen’s works hold.

Aged 37, Iris Van Herpen studied at the Artez Institute of the Arts Arnhem, proceeding this, interned at Alexander McQueen. Within Van Herpen’s earlier collections, you can detect a few McQueen-isms. A horned shoulder, ivory-layers that wish your eyes to see goat skulls, the majesty of the ocean, a shared fascination between Van Herpen and the late Lee McQueen. Above all else, a fascination with the future, using technology to be transported, be it just for a catwalk, to the future.

Collection after collection, anticipation for the IVH show grows each year. From the AW19/20 show ‘Hypnosis’, the bar for couture as a vessel to push boundaries would be forever raised by the house. Gowns that towered above the wearer's head, a level of intricacy to rival mother nature herself and a kinetic sculpture turned dress, that moved along with the set. Centric around Anthony Howe’s sculptural works, ‘Hypnosis’ explored how natural processes are akin to a trance like state. Within her own process, Van Herpen created one of the most staggering feats of construction a runway has ever seen.

The Met Gala is often where an identity is formed for the wider public consumption. Designers and their muses, friends of the house and celebrities wearing their own creations. Van Herpen’s aesthetic aligned with electronic artist Grimes. For 2021, Grimes wore a gown, flecked with metallic layers and draped in dramatic trains of dyed silk. Clutching a sword and an illuminated book for a clutch, Grimes was Van Herpen’s futuristic warrior. Now Parisian Sweet has the opportunity to see the gowns (one worn by Grimes and the other Gabrielle Union) be auctioned in Paris by Bonhams with both Van Herpen and Grimes in attendance. Words cannot express how excited we are to see these articles go under the hammer and for such a good cause. Proceeds will be going to the Amazon Conservation Association and the Rainforest Trust Foundation.